The Vice-President of Sierra Leone, in a meeting with UNCTAD Secretary-General Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, expressed his country's appreciation for UNCTAD's technical assistance and endorsed the main recommendations of the forthcoming Investment Policy Review.

The Vice-President of Sierra Leone, H.E. Alhaji Samuel Sam-Sumana, met with UNCTAD's Secretary-General, Dr. Supachai Panitchpakdi, to discuss UNCTAD's technical assistance for the country's development, notably in the area of investment.

The Vice-President was accompanied by the Honourable Minister of Information and Communication, Mr. I.B. Kargbo, the Consul of Sierra Leone in Switzerland, Mr. Emile Edouard Luy, and Dr. Alpha Grace, an international consultant and entrepreneur in the country.

Dr. Supachai and H.E. Sam-Sumana discussed some of the key findings of UNCTAD's Investment Policy Review (IPR) of Sierra Leone.

The IPR looks at the regulatory framework for foreign direct investment (FDI) in Sierra Leone and provides several recommendations to make the investment climate more attractive. In accordance with the Government's request, it also elaborates on an overall strategy to attract beneficial inflows of FDI.

Recommendations include:

Tackling infrastructure deficiencies

Building human capital

Establishing a competitive fiscal regime

Facilitating business and trade

Promoting and facilitating FDI

Targeting investment in selected sectors such as mining, commercial agriculture, fisheries and tourism

The draft IPR will be presented at a national workshop in Freetown on 8 October 2009. The workshop will be attended by high-level Government officials, including the Honourable Minister of Trade and Industry, Mr. David Carew, and representatives of the private sector, civil society and international community.